Community wayfinding in older adults: Findings from the chicago wayfinding assessment project

Research about community wayfinding in older adults is limited but suggests that wayfinding becomes more challenging with age and decrements in cognitive functioning. Given the projected growth in the older adult population, we need to gain a greater understanding of environmental and other features that support or inhibit wayfinding, to enable older adults to remain mobile and engaged in community life for the longest possible time. This presentation will describe results of a CDC Healthy Aging Research Network (CDC-HAN) study conducted in an ethnically varied Chicago neighborhood known as South Chicago to identify factors that enhance and inhibit community wayfinding in diverse older adults. Thirty-five short- (n=14) and long-term (n=21) residents (of whom 5 and 6, respectively, had cognitive limitations) completed a structured interview (demographics, health, function, levels of walking and other activity, confidence in wayfinding); responded to additional questions about wayfinding strategies, barriers, and facilitators including drawing a map; and then accompanied researchers on an audio-recorded “task walk” along a prescribed path while describing how they would tell another person unfamiliar with the area to walk from origin to destination. Using a CDC-HAN tool, researchers previously audited the path to identify wayfinding aids and cues. Based on descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis, results indicate that these older adults relied primarily on landmarks; street signs, addresses, and building numbers; and information from others to navigate in familiar and unfamiliar settings. We will discuss mode-of-travel-specific differences in wayfinding strategies and implications for subsequent research.